New Year's resolutions CLAIRE MUMMERT
New Year's resolutions always feel like a game that you
My husband and I were sitting at a cozy breakfast,
know in advance you will fail. You make a list of
watching snow come down on the field outside, while
promises you have almost no intention of keeping and
on vacation in Vermont. We wanted this year to be
then, surprise, you don't keep them. Now that I have
different. We wanted our lives to be changed. We
three children, multiple jobs, and almost no time to
wanted the feeling we had in Vermont to pervade our
myself, I have to be realistic. I think most people go on
day-to-day. I mean who doesn't go to Vermont on
a sort of resolutions journey, and the first step seems to
vacation and feel inspired to change your life? I get
be “the word.”
that way just watching White Christmas each year.
You decide to ditch your resolutions altogether and
So our words (because we could not decide on one)
pick a word that will define your year. You spend weeks
were “brave adventure.” We were parenting two kids
deciding on the perfect word, and you know that it is
we loved, in the process of adopting, and camping
going to encompass your everything, changing you so
frequently. This was a truly great year. It was a year
that the montage of your year plays indie rock and has
where we focused on building relationships even
nights full of laughter and twinkle lights. Unfortunately,
when it was hard, we got outside more than ever
there is so much more to my life, and one word, while
before, and difficulties were mitigated by seasons of
helpful, is not always an end all. I wind up Saturday at 2
beauty.
p.m. wondering why this day has not been “grace” or “joy” or whatever my word is at the time.
But it still wasn't perfect. Our youngest went through a patch where his word for the season was
My first attempt at making this stick was the closest I
“destruction,” and homeschooling was not the tiptoe
ever came to success, and even then, it was not all
through the tulips I envisioned. I just kept telling
perfect.
myself that I was “brave” for sticking it out and that this was just another definition for “adventure.” LOVE OF DIXIE MAGAZINE
- 26 -
WINTER 2018-2019
